We wouldn't have found our boat if it hadn't been for our broker. By being "tied in" with other brokers he was able to locate the boat we were looking for before it was listed. Hull and engine surveys were favorable and we made an offer that was accepted. We did not pay our broker a dime. He was paid by the seller. Very smooth transaction... We had a good experience.

Both the buyer and seller pay for the broker. Without each person, the broker would never get paid. The broker makes the transaction more expensive, period. They're nothing more than the Realtors of the boat world.

I'm hoping to locate a boat and purchase it without even using a broker. I don't care for Realtors, car salesmen, mortgage brokers, and I have a hunch I'm not going to be too fond of boat brokers. All just want to get into your wallet.

-- Edited by BoatDog on Thursday 14th of October 2010 10:51:10 PM

While I am not a fan of "middle-men" as they do make things more expensive. In our case, we were going through the process for the very first time. Our broker really did provide an insanely valuable service to us. Dealing directly with the owner would be very uncomfortable. Especially when it came down to negotiating price. Do you really want to sit there and throw your first offer, often a low-ball-ish number, and risk setting a poor tone from the get-go? I wouldn't, but that's just me.

He also was an opinionated guy who wasn't afraid to tell us that the path we were headed down was the wrong one. Or that this boat was not the best for us as new buyers because he's been on it and it needed more work than new buyers should have to do. Very much like a "preview" as the OP stated... Just without a checklist

One other note I must relay is that we are now friends with our broker. He goes out of his way to go to West Matrine for us and drop the stuff off on our boat. He spend the winter checking up on her, turning on and off our heater, and generally keeping us happy. And we bought over a year ago.

Without each person, the broker would never get paid. The broker makes the transaction more expensive, period. ....All just want to get into your wallet.

I think using that belief to rationalize not using a broker is cutting a buyer off from an excellent potential to find the ideal boat for them.**It's certainly possible to find*the right boat*without a broker,*too.* It all comes down to the nature of*the broker.

When you consider the time and effort we would have had to spend to find a boat that suited us, plus our lack of*detail knowledge about the kind of boat we were*considering buying, not using a broker would have cost us FAR more*in time, effort, frustration,*potential disappointment, and money, than the dollar amount of the selling price that covered the broker commission cost us.* I put a pretty high value on my time, and any of it that I have to spend doing something that someone else can do better or faster or cheaper*is a waste of money in my book.

We were lucky--- we hooked up with an outstanding broker.* They're not all like that, no question.* But we would not have found the boat we now have, and the process of evaluating, inspecting, and surveying would*not have gone nearly as smoothly as it*did, had we not used the broker we used.

So I think rulling*a out a*broker based on some stereotyped image of a greedy, gimmee-your-money*person who contributes nothing to the boat finding and buying process---- particularly if a buyer doesn't know all that much about the kind or make of boat they want--- is a very blindered' attitude.

This isn't a recommendation to always use a broker.* But*it is*a recommendation not to rule it out.* The trick is to find the right broker.

Marin wrote:This isn't a recommendation to always use a broker.* But*it is*a recommendation not to rule it out.* The trick is to find the right broker.

I agree with Marin's*statement.* We have owned 4 boats over the last 23 years.* We have bought 3 with brokers and sold 2 without (we still have one).* When we bought our 3rd boat it would not have happened with out a broker.* We were 10K apart and our broker suggested that we all kick in $2,500.* The sellers broker refused but the seller said OK.* So we split the 10K 3 ways.* After the survey, we went back and asked the seller to drop his cost 5K more.* Again the sellers broker said no but the seller said yes.* If it wasn't for our broker it never would have happened.* Would you hire the sellers broker?

I flew from Seattle to FL to look at another*boat.* The broker gave us a list of needed repairs before I showed up.* The asking*price was adjusted accordingly, so the broker said.* I hired a surveyor, I flew to Fl.* The boat should have been totaled.**Eight deck beam ends were rotted, 50% of the hull was delaminated, etc.* The broker should have gone to jail for misrepresentation.* Another time I flew to Indiana.* The boat was owned by a surveyor who* I talked with extensively before I flew out.* When I arrived with the listing broker, and saw the boat I almost turned around.* It was a wreck.* As a kid I was told never to buy a car from a mechanic.* It sure applied here.

We sold one of our*boats that wasn't even listed using a broker.* The broker knew what our long term plans were.* He had a buyer who met our asking price.* That being said we sold a boat that we lived and cruised on for 10 years without a broker.* It's a lot of work.* We bought Hobo without a broker.

From our experience there are good and bad brokers.* Ask around and get lots of referrals and do the same for the surveyor.

As far as hiring someone for a pre-survey, I would never do it.**Would you hired someone to do a pre-survey on a house?

Larry M wrote:As far as hiring someone for a pre-survey, I would never do it.**Would you hired someone to do a pre-survey on a house?

You don't think that having someone like a preview person Mike was talking about wouldn't have been perfect in your siutuation? The listing broker, like the owner, will slightly misrepresent, embellish, or speak in half-truths to try and make the sale? A second, opinion outside of those two would have save you a lot of grief and a ticket from Seattle to Florida. I'm just sayin'. There are a lot of brokers that just like looking at boats and don't need much of an excuse to go nose around a marina.

GonzoF1 wrote:
You don't think that having someone like a preview person Mike was talking about wouldn't have been perfect in your siutuation? The listing broker, like the owner, will slightly misrepresent, embellish, or speak in half-truths to try and make the sale? A second, opinion outside of those two would have save you a lot of grief and a ticket from Seattle to Florida.
Depends...* If it was a friend as a favor, sure, I'd have him do a preview, bu I wouldn't pay someone.* The two trips that bombed, they actually helped me when the time came to purchase a similar*boat.* In both cases*I knew more about the specific manufacturer than I would have know other wise.